Maruti Suzuki's Alto returns as top selling car with a sales of 21,553 units in August compared to 16,997 units in July, pushing its elder sibling compact sedan Dzire to second spot selling 17,801 units compared to 18,634 units in the previous month.

In one of the clearest signs yet that an economic turnaround could indeed be under way, sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles grew for the first time in 29 months in August after having contracted sharply in the past few months.

Car sales, which had suffered badly in the last two financial years, have been showing some signs of a recovery for the past few months, though a turnaround hinges on the gradual recovery in the domestic economy.